Bonaventur Reig and Marie Pi

Bonaventure Reig was born in Banyuls in 1770, - I'm a russelon.
He was the son of Jacques Reig and Françoise Pi, sister of François Pi, 34th Duke and Count of Roussillon.
During the wars with Spain, during the revolution, Françoise Pi, was killed by the Spaniards, while his son Bonaventure Reig and her husband Jacques REIG were taken into captivity, probably as hostages. They never came back and died, one in the fortress of FiguerasThe other one in a prison in Barcelona.

Bonaventure Reig married around 1790 with a cousin: Maria Pi, daughter of François Pi34th Count of Roussillon, also killed by the Spaniards on 4 February 1794. Among their children, born before the captivity and death of Bonaventure, there were Michel REIG, the eldest son, born in 1792, the grandfather of Claude's grandmother.

The large landowners of French Catalonia were called at the time Reig, Sagols, or Pi. They were descendants of these owners, who, installed in Seals in 1927, organized the presentation of Maurice ROUGIER à Suzanne Maillet, Claude Rougier's future parents.

Claude tells the memories left by his grandmother Pauline: "REIGs (pronounced Retch) have been owners of the Reig Mas in Banyuls since time immemorial - 7 centuries, fortified by the Templars. (Tradition says the mas was fortified by them in the 12th/13th century)The Baron Reig, the ancestor, was probably a templar himself.
The Mas from Banyuls is reached by a stony path that erupts at the bottom of the valley of Banyuls and climbs to the terrace of the farmhouse (very beautiful gazebo). It is in the cellars of the mas Reig that, centuries after, the wine of Banyuls was created. The character of the old cellar is extraordinary, built by the Templars with a vault supported by thick pillars, Cells, elongated, narrow, lined with cells serving as wine cellars.
The smaller Serre mas and the Peine mas collected the grapes from the surrounding area, pressed them, and by a system of pipes built at the time of the templars sent the wine to the cellars of the Reig mas.
The farmhouse still exists, bequeathed to the town of Banyuls, with its vineyards and olive trees, by Paul REIG (a cousin of Pauline REIG, Claude's grandmother). It is reached by coming from Banyuls and climbing by a stony path to the bottom of the valley, to the terrace of the Mas, one of the most beautiful gazebo of the Roussillon. 
The mayor of Banyuls, in 1959, disposed of the leg of Paul, heir to the mas without children, (and cousin of my grandmother Pauline) and set up a "wine house" there. It is a kind of luxury inn, wine and tourism, in the center of the route of the ridges. ElneOn the fortifications, there is a large commemorative plaque in memory of Paul REIG, the great owner and benefactor of the commune for his charitable works and gift of his fortune - in particular the mas Reig."

Souvenirs of Granie - Suzanne Rougier: "The mas Reig was offered with its vineyards and olive trees to the city of Banyuls-sur-mer for the charitable office by Paul Reig, the first cousin of Pauline Reig (wife of General Rougier) and Caroline Vassal-Reig."

Back to home